Homeland residents calling lawyers after FPL launches new project

Road construction started Monday

Homeland residents west of Lake Worth awoke Monday to find construction crews clearing land to make way for a fourth high-voltage power line and an access road that has residents furious and calling lawyers.

Florida Power & Light notified residents in the gated equestrian community in August that the company needed to construct another power line and access road on its 290-foot easement to supply power to the western parts of the county.

That means wetlands, trees, horse barns and sheds will come down.

Upset residents said in addition to the financial losses of their structures, their houses' values will plummet and they are worried about electromagnetic harm from another high-voltage line coming closer to their homes and horses.

"It's bad enough they have to put in another line," said Dr. Herman Brann, surveying his 5-acre property. "But they don't need another access road; they already have one on the other side of the easement."

Brann and others were upset that the construction started on Martin Luther King Day, when they could not reach a judge to file an emergency injunction.

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy sat in a marked car next to the construction, causing residents even more concern.

"Why is he there, unless they know they are doing something wrong?" Brann asked.

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